


i don't mind (i promise)

by orphan_account



Category: VICTON (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt and comfort, M/M, Neighbours, Slice of Life, single dad!byungchan, they're in quarantine, underground rapper!hanse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24982288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: 'Like father, like son' they say.Or Byungchan's son keeps begging him to go next door to the 'cool rapper uncle' 's house. Good thing the 'cool rapper uncle' doesn't mind that his cute neighbour and his even cuter son likes to make themselves at home at his house.
Relationships: Choi Byungchan/Do Hanse
Comments: 11
Kudos: 75
Collections: Lucky 7 Victon





	i don't mind (i promise)

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this was written for the Victon Lucky 7 Ficfest <3 
> 
> this is my first time writing for a ficfest, the prompt was rlly cute and i didnt want it to go to waste so i couldn't resist. i hope i did justice to the prompt and that this ship gets more recognition (cos theyre besties), and most importantly that you guys enjoy it <3

If a month ago Byungchan thought working in his hot and constantly buzzing office was stressful, staying home 24/7 with a 6 year old was a whole other league. 

He loved his son Yejoon, he really did. Although he struggled with bringing up an entire human being when he was a clumsy and uncoordinated adult himself, the years he has spent with his son has brought him more joy than all his childless, lonely bachelor years ever could. He would admit though, sending Yejoon to kindergarten for the staff to deal with him and his playful self helped Byungchan relax tremendously, even if it was just for a few hours.

Yejoon was not by any means more naughty than your average 6 year old kid. He was proud to say that his son knew when it was time to play and when to ' _act like a big boy_ '. He was also very sweet and affectionate, and was always good at sensing when his father was feeling down. To try to ' _cure appa's sadness_ ' he would use his small hands to rub at his ears and leave a kiss at his nose, just like what Byungchan did when he was the one crying. 

What was especially stressing him out was the way every once in a while, his son had these fixations. Usually, it would be on simple and manageable things like a Marvel superhero or a certain cereal brand. While these gave him a little of a hard time, he was perfectly happy to spoil his son if his income provided him the power to. This time however, the money that he worked his ass off on was proved useless. 

During the day, Byungchan would often fall into these naps in front of the television while they were both supposed to be watching reruns of random cartoon shows. One afternoon, he shakes himself up from another unintentional nap to find Yejoon bopping his head enthusiastically to the hiphop song playing on the music channel he must have switched to. He didn't think much of it until days later, when his son brought something rather interesting up.

"Appa, do you have a best friend?"

Byungchan smiled at the question, confused as to where it was coming from but touched that his son cared enough to ask. He hums in contemplation, "Well… I would say I have a lot of really close friends. There’s uncle Seungsik-"

His son cuts him off, "But uncle Seungsik is uncle Seungwoo’s best friend."

“Are you not allowed to have more than one best friend, Yejoonie?” which the younger replies to with a disagreeing shake of the head, “Nuh-uh.”

He laughs at the child, amused at how his small brain worked, “Why’d you ask, munchkin?”

The question seemed to be one that the kid was waiting for, “I know who could be your best friend, appa!” he said excitedly. 

This made Byungchan’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Even after a number of years raising Yejoon, it seemed that he was still not used to how spontaneous child dialogue can be. “And who would that be?”, he asked anyway, entertaining the child.

“The cool rapper uncle in 506!”

He tried to mask his surprise at his son's suggestion. He certainly was not expecting that, not to mention he was quite concerned how he came to know the 'cool rapper uncle' next door, even before Byungchan himself got the chance to. "Oh, you've talked to him, honey?"

"Uh huh. I was getting the mail from the lobby like you told me to and he was there. I told him that I thought elevators are scary and he waited for me so we could go together. I really like him, I know you will too."

Despite the explanation, a tiny detail still confused him, "How do you know that he’s a rapper, honey?"

"I asked him," he responds innocently.

_Oh. It's really just that easy, huh?_

"And why did you ask him?"

"He looked just like that man I saw on tv! He looked so cool, Appa!"

He thought about the said neighbour next door. He didn’t mean to be nosy, but whenever Byungchan was collecting the mail, he couldn’t help but take a peek at the mailbox right next to their own, more specifically at the name printed below the silver ‘506’. _Do Hanse_ , it spelt. 

When he and his son first moved into the apartment complex over a year ago, he found the halls quite eerie; always silent and always vacant. Soon he learned that it was due to the fact that most of the neighbours living on the fifth floor were old and retired. Not even the sweet kinds, judging how they didn’t even bother giving him and his son freshly baked cookies. 

A couple months later, their peaceful bubble of an apartment was shattered by the loud music travelling through the walls from next door. Byungchan and his son were located in the second to last room towards the end of the hall, making the next door the last one in the hallway. This meant only they were affected by the booming noises. 

He let it pass for one night both because it was the first occurrence and Yejoon slept through it anyway. A few nights after however, the songs that were played went from (very loud) Twice and praise and worship songs to (even louder) hip hop, making the wall where they were connected vibrate lightly. It was a shame that there were no angry grandmas to go over, knock harshly, and deal with the problem for him.

Byungchan thought he was too nice of a person to bang on the wall, so he handled it like an adult, grabbing a nearby hoodie in an attempt to look somewhat presentable and hide his bird’s nest of a head to his seemingly new neighbour. 

He huffed. He really did not want to leave their bed but it was deemed necessary if he wanted the two of them to get any sleep. He padded sleepily onto the door next to his that read ‘ _506_ ’, bringing his hand up and knocking loudly twice before he could shy away. 

He was standing in front of his neighbour’s door, a tiny bit anxious because he had yet to master the art of being rude and respectful at the same time (In case they happened to be someone much older than him), until he felt small hands tug lightly at his pajama pants.

He looked down to see Yejoon blinking sleepily up at him, rubbing his eye with one hand. He felt the frown he forced onto his face soften. Either he accidentally left the door open or he was entirely too sleepy to notice the tiny figure trailing behind him. He crouched to the ground to match his son’s height, enveloping Yejoon's tiny hands easily with his much larger one, “What are you doing here, munchkin? Why don't you go back to bed, hm? Appa won’t take long, he just has to-”

He was cut by the sound of the door swinging open, the music even louder now without a wall separating it. He looked up at the man standing by the now opened door, their eyes met and they were silent for a second before Byungchan let out a forced, awkward laugh because he realised the awkward angle he was in.

He got up from where he was crouching and stood up straight to talk to his neighbour, taking a moment to note how he towers the other. It was a little cute, especially with how intimidating the other looked. Still, his height did not make it any easier for Byungchan to say what he needed to.

“Good evening?”, the man lets out, his voice higher than what he expected.

“Hi. I- I meant good evening as well. Sorry for interrupting, but I live next door and I was wondering if you could maybe…”

Byungchan figured he really hasn’t gotten any better at this formal complaint thing. It didn’t help either when the recipient looked like the man that was in front of him.

Something visibly clicked in his neighbour’s head, he must have noticed how exhausted the two in front of him were and the all-too-high volume the current song was blasting at, “Oh!”, he jogged to the back of the room leaving him and his son awkwardly standing by the door, deciding whether they should leave already or if the other was still coming back. 

The music blasting abruptly stops and seconds later the man is back in front of them, “I’m really sorry about that,” he glanced down at Yejoon and back up to him, “I must have kept you and your brother up or maybe even awakened you.”

“He’s my son," he corrected softly. He had grown used to comments like these and it never affected him anymore, so long as their stares didn’t mean judgment. Mistakes like that weren't as bad as a few years ago, at least, when Yejoon was much younger as so was Byungchan. That time of his life really showed him how cruel and judgmental the world can be. 

His eyes widened, “Oh. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.”

The other man looked so panicked he couldn’t help but let out a grin, “No, no it’s fine, I promise," the teasing grin faded out into a small, genuine smile as they stood there, eyes wandering, both visibly thinking of what to say next.

The way the other was looking at him had his ears warming up, so he took this and Yejoon’s hand tugging at his pajama pants as a sign that he should go back to bed right at that moment.

“Well... I better get going. Goodnight. And thank you.”

“Goodnight, I’m sorry again," he said sheepishly.

“It’s alright. Welcome to the neighbourhood, by the way. Or more like the apartment complex.”

The other laughs at this, Byungchan considers it a score. “Thank you.”

“Good bye.”

“Bye.”

He goes back to bed that night wondering if the halls were gonna look less lifeless from now on. 

Aside from that incident around a year ago, the two neighbours never had any further interactions. Besides the fact that Byungchan was never much of a sociable person, not really bothering to branch out from his group of friends all the way back from high school, he also felt embarrassed whenever he saw the man, with the way their first meeting was him basically telling the other to shut up. 

Although his friends might disagree and call him oblivious, he liked to call himself an observant person. Whenever he walked the halls and happened to run into his neighbour, his eyes were always subconsciously searching. He did this so much that he had to remind himself not to gawk at the stranger like a freak. 

After a few moments of riding the elevator with the other, he noticed the stranger was never the same as when he last saw him. In July, Byungchan immediately noticed his bleached, longer white hair, making him look notably more delicate. The week after, a lip ring glimmered whenever he moved even in the slightest. A month later, new inked words decorated his skin beautifully. 

It was almost a fun game to him, to spot something new about his neighbour each time he saw him. He was unpredictable and never failed to surprise the other. On certain days he’d be in all black clothing, and the next he’d be enough to rival an actual rainbow. Byungchan felt as though he paled in comparison to the other, with his virgin Black hair and bland clothing choices. He had smooth pale skin that made him feel like he wasn’t living life to the fullest like his neighbour seemed to be doing. He had no scars, his skin never been tainted; he was an empty book with no story to tell. 

Needless to say, his interest was picked up and he found himself looking forward to seeing his neighbour. He would swear it was solely because of his little mental game, but Byungchan wasn’t so sure of that himself. 

There was something about the stranger that was so expressive and yet raw. He was like an incomplete painting, a canvas already filled with gorgeous strokes and colours, enough to adore even with it’s blank spaces. It made Byungchan feel like he knew so much about the stranger and at the same time, nothing at all.

A week after the first time Yejoon brought the topic of the neighbour up, the non stop begging (“ _Please, appa, I really want to meet a real rapper! I’ve only ever seen them on tv!_ ”) finally got to Byungchan (he will never admit that it was because of the puppy eyes). He gave in. It was after the first knock on his door that Byungchan realized the flaw in his plan- he didn’t have one. 

He had absolutely no clue what to say to the stranger; he hadn’t thought about how odd it was to knock on someone’s door without purpose. Was it weird to say _'My kid wouldn’t stop begging me to come see you because he finds you cool (and maybe so do I)'_? He definitely did not want to be a nuisance to the other, to be the annoying neighbour who kept bugging him. Before he had the chance to think of the vaguest idea of what to say, it was already too late with the door swinging open.

He greeted the two with a big, welcoming smile that made Byungchan’s brain falter even further. He said the first thing to pop in his head, “Good evening... U-Uh do you happen to have any sugar?”

_Wow. Real smooth._

The game already went off in Byungchan’s head as he gawked at him. He pierced his nose. He shook his head slightly, catching himself before his stares were deemed “too long”. The neighbour does not even get the chance to answer before Yejoon lets out a high squeal and an excited “Uncle Sese!" running to latch onto the other’s leg.

_Sese? That is the most endearing-_

His neighbour let out a giggle. _A giggle. I didn’t even know someone who looked as intimidating as him could do that._ “Hello Yejoonie.”

After their little moment, the neighbour looked up to see Byungchan awkwardly standing there, not knowing what to do. He chuckled at that, a little hint of nervousness although barely there, “I’m sorry, it’s probably creepy that I’m all comfortable with your child like this. I met him in the lobby once and, well- he’s clingy.”

“No, it’s okay, it’s nice really. I already knew, he kind of told me about you.”

His mouth formed an “o” in slight shock, “Hopefully no bad things?”

Byungchan chuckled, “Are there any I should know of?”

The neighbour shook his head and stuck out a hand for him to shake, “I’m Do Hanse. We’ve met before but I realized I never got to ask for your name…”

He shook it, letting go too soon due to his nerves that were currently through the roof, “Choi Byungchan.”

Hanse smiled, “Well, Byungchan, do you want to step in? I’ll go fetch the sugar for you. Or you could wait here but…” he looks at Yejoon, already making himself home at Hanse’s bright yellow sofa. 

He smiled endearingly, seeing his child bounce excitedly at the cushions, but doubt creeps up his mind, “Are you sure? I mean I don’t want to impose.”

The other shook his head, a little too strongly, “No, no it’s fine, I promise. I don’t mind.”

The two stood there smiling softly at each other before Hanse disappeared inside his house, beckoning Byungchan to follow suit. He sat on the sofa while his son was running around the room curiously looking at Hanse’s rather interesting display items and furniture. 

Yejoon was not the only one- his own interest was picked up as well, looking around the room while the neighbour disappeared to get them drinks. Judging by the overall sharp and edgy appearance of the other, he would have assumed his stylistic choices for his house would follow the same pattern, but he was surprised at how colourful everything was on the inside. A lot of things about the neighbour surprised him and at this point, he should learn to abandon his habit of assuming anything. 

Upon hearing Hanse’s footsteps, he stopped looking around, giving his attention to the phone in his hands. _He totally wasn’t being nosy. Nope._ He looked up to see him holding two glasses of orange juice, carefully walking so as to not spill them. He set them down at the table, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what you wanted so I just got the same thing as Yejoon’s glass. I could just get you something else and have this for myself, what do you w-”

Byungchan stopped him from getting up again, “No it’s fine, orange juice is nice. I don’t mind.”

He smiled, “Sweet," before trying to get up again.

“It’s okay, really, you don’t have to get anything else.”

Hanse laughed softly at him, “I’m just gonna get my own glass.” This made Byungchan flush in embarrassment. “Clingier than Yejoon, now are we?”

He was being teased by his cute neighbour and it was actually getting to him. He really was feeling more and more like a teenage high schooler by the minutes. 

The three were on his sofa for another half hour, talking about the most random things that Yejoon decided to stir the conversation to. Byungchan watched as the two playfully bickered about things as trivial as marvel superheroes and cereal. It was extremely endearing hearing him change his tone of voice when talking to his son, he almost sounds like a child himself. At one point, the two even got Byungchan to stand up and join them at lip syncing and dancing crazily to whatever famous song the television played. When the child whispers to him about needing to potty, he takes this as a hint to return to their own apartment, worrying about overstaying their welcome by letting the child use his restroom.

It took a lot of convincing on Byungchan’s part for the child to agree to leaving the apartment, but all it took was Hanse promising, “You can visit uncle any time, okay? You’re always welcome, Yejoonie. We're friends now, afterall." he might have been looking at Byungchan as well when he said those words, but he might also be imagining things. 

It was only when they reach the sofa of their own apartment that Byungchan realized-

“We didn’t even get to borrow sugar.”

  
It was another afternoon locked at home, he woke up after falling asleep once more during their tv-watching sessions, this time however, he smiled at seeing Yejoon fast asleep as well, his cheeks squished up as he leaned against a cushion.

He spent a moment sitting there, gazing at his son fondly, thinking deeply about nothing and everything. His gaze dropped to the dorsal part of Yejoon’s hand where a pokemon rub-on tattoo sat. He smiled at the memory of bathing his son, him asking Byungchan to be careful while soaping him, to avoid scrubbing the little Charmander off. He remembered the little boy proudly showing the print on his hand, talking excitedly about how he was ' _just as cool as uncle Hanse now_ '.

Byungchan's thoughts wandered even further, thinking of the said man and his son together. The image of the two talking animatedly about the show Yejoon loves, of Hanse talking just as enthusiastically as the toddler despite the fact that he most likely had no idea what the show was even about. Another memory popped up, it was the image of the Hanse carrying Yejoon in his arms as he brought him to the man's bed, allowing him to nap there for the afternoon as the two of them talked alone at the living room for the rest of the day. His heart warmed at the thought of him tucking Yejoon in. 

Suddenly the low noise of the television in the background becomes clear to him. The tv was set to the same family-friendly hiphop channel that Yejoon loved to put it to. The voice of the person going off to the beat on the television was awfully familiar to him, he glanced at the screen, way too bright for Byungchan’s eyes having just woken up, it takes a moment to adjust, but it was still too blurry to confirm his suspicions. He hurriedly grabs his glasses that were sat on the couch-side table before the song switches to another artist. 

He puts the frames onto his face, his vision clarifying, then he sees the man on the television screen. 

_Oh my god._

  
He didn’t know what kind of force overcame him as he got up, still in pajama bottoms and a hoodie as he knocked on his neighbour’s door, leaving his son to nap for longer. Maybe it was the shock? The loneliness? He wasn’t sure what it was that drew him to his next-door neighbour, but it led him to do impulsive things like this.

He opened it with a smile, drying his freshly dyed, newly cut jet-black hair with a towel. He looked surprised to see him for a second, his eyes traveling downwards as if he was looking for the child, “Hey, Byungchan, what’s up?”

He spurted out, “You’re famous?”

He calmed down a little as they both end up drinking hot chocolate on his sofa. Hanse brought it up again, “So… how’d you know?”

“The music program Yejoon likes to watch. You were on my tv! It is kind of weird how we've been hanging out this whole time and we never got to mention our professions. You didn't even bother telling me I was befriending a celebrity.”

"I am definitely not that. Yet. The music industry is really though, Hanse laughed with a shake of his head. He took a sip on his mug before confessing in a much smaller voice, “You know, I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t find out.”

Byungchan tilted his head to the side in confusion, “Huh? Why not?”

The other man seems kind of shy when he talks again, “Dunno. I’ve grown quite fond of… Yejoonie. I just-I didn’t want you to think of me as a bad influence to your son in any way.”

Confusion still there, he asks, “Why would I think that?”

Although his voice was still soft, he goes into a more passionate speech, “You can probably guess the assumptions people make about artists in the underground hiphop industry. They’re almost never really clean or good. They’re never exactly family-friendly.”

Byungchan tries to reply, “Bu-” however the other boy cuts him off.

“You know, I’m kind of surprised you don’t already think I'm all that bad stuff just by looking at me. To most parents, nothing says bad influence like body ink and face jewelry, you know.”

“No! You look- uhm. Well you don’t. You look-”

His giggles cut him off. “Whatever you’re trying to say, I’m glad.”

“Assumptions! Assumptions are wack anyway. In that context and in general. Like… I don’t know enough about you but I do know you’re a good person. Probably. There's not a lot of people I trust with my son, I barely even trust myself with my son, but for some reason… I trust you. Is that weird? Am I foolish for that?”

The way Hanse was staring at him with such genuinity made him feel some type of way, “Are you sure you want to trust me, though? Even when I rap about sex, drugs, violence, and all that?”

Byungchan snickers at this, punching his shoulder lightly, “Liar. I Googled your song lyrics.”

He seemed interested, “And? Your final verdict?”

_They’re beautiful._

“You are one sappy bitch.”

Hanse lets out a bark of laughter at that. 

  
Without him realizing, the two probably spent more time over at Hanse’s apartment than their own, sometimes only returning to bathe and sleep before coming back for joint breakfast the next day. In some instances, Hanse would be the one over at their apartment, although it’s not nearly as fun as his weird and colourful furniture, Hanse claims that Yejoon’s lego collection that he indulges in so often makes up for it.

Byungchan did not think much of it, he had grown comfortable, claiming the corner of the neighbour’s mustard couch as his territory, none of them were busy anyway aside from the occasional emails and phone calls. Hanse never gave him a reason to think he was overstaying his welcome, until that moment.

The other two padded to the bathroom inside Hanse’s bedroom to apply yet another pokemon rub-on tattoo. The poor guy was obviously hoarding boxes of cereal just for the free randomized pokemons that come with it. He mentally noted to tell him off spending money on them one day. 

Byungchan sat alone on the sofa, mind wandering to embarrassing places he would never think out loud. He wondered what his bedroom looked like. Would it be just as colourful as the living room he has grown accustomed to? Or maybe it looked more like his mini recording studio room, all monochromatic colours. What would be on the walls? Posters? Photos? Judging from his (surprisingly soft) personality, he seemed like the type to own a couple of stuffed animals. He shook his head. 

Byungchan set his bedroom as an off-limits zone, thinking there was not any reason for him to ever reach that point anyway. He blushed, zoning out, mind wandering to the possible reasons he might be reaching Hanse’s bedroom.

Interrupting his thoughts, the sound of the door knob appeared, jiggling at first, enough to make Byungchan anxious. Of all the times he and his son spent in his apartment, he didn’t have any friends over. _What if they’re robbers? Oh no, he’s going down first. I should probably quickly text him to jump out the window with Yejoon while I distract them._

The door swung open and Byungchan was puzzled to find a woman walking in. 

_Female robber?_

She was beautiful with her sharp but barbie-like features, long wavy black hair, and expensive fashion. She almost looked as cool as Hanse with her beautiful flower tattoos and face piercings. They really looked like they were meant for each other. She looked just as surprised to see him sitting on the sofa, although the expression on her face was more amused than anything.

_Ok. Probably not a robber._

Something sunk inside Byungchan. _She’s gorgeous._ She’s much shorter than him, but well, most people were. This might be why Hanse never really brought up the topic of relationships. He thought he was just being sensitive to Byungchan since he was a single father and all, but now he suspected maybe it was because Hanse found out he was terribly interested in him and didn’t know how to bring up the fact that he already had a girlfriend. _She even owned spare keys._

She let out a huge, almost teasing grin as she sat at the other end of the sofa, too comfortably to someone who was just a friend or acquaintance, “Hey. Bad timing?”

He got up and bowed to her as a greeting, “Hello, I’m Hanse’s neighbour, Byungchan. He’s currently in the bathroom but I could go get him for you…?”

She shook her head, still smiling brightly, “No, it’s okay, I’ll wait here with you.”

Byungchan sat back down and took the time to mentally scold himself. Of course he had a girlfriend. _Of fucking course he has a girlfriend._

The two awkwardly sat on each end of the couch, silence enveloping the space. Loud enough to hear muffled sounds of Hanse and Yejoon talking brightly from rooms away. Byungchan busied himself playing with his fingers. Right when he was getting used to the uncomfortable silence, she spoke up again, “You know I was wondering what made him sound so happy and giddy during our calls. I asked him if it was because he was finally getting some dick and he denied it, but I just had to come and see for myself. Lying bastard. You should punish him for that.” she ends with a suggestive wink, prompting him to slightly choke on air.

She pressed even further, “You’re boning aren’t you? Or dating, that's good too.”

Her implications made him blush furiously, “I have a son!”

“And?”, she pushed, “What about a wife? Husband?”

“Uhm, no. Not really?”

She raised her eyebrow at this, “Not really?”

“I meant no. I don’t. Single father.”

The clarification made another wide grin bloom from her face, “Good. Hanse won’t mind, then.”

Byungchan was not entirely sure what she was implying, tilting his head in confusion. She reached over and lightly ruffled his hair, “You’re cute. I approve of you already. You make him really happy too. You’re literally perfect. Are you even human?”

Right as he was going to ask the woman what she meant by that, the two finally emerged from the bedroom. She got up to give Hanse a hug, leaving a bitter taste on Byungchan’s tongue for a reason unknown to him. The neighbour looked almost more surprised than him to see her, “I thought you weren’t coming over until Saturday?”

She went to whisper to him, although it was definitely not meant to be a quiet one since the whole room could hear it anyway, “Had to go see him for myself.”

Hanse playfully shoved her shoulder at the comment, Byungchan just gawked, not getting the joke, “This is my sister, by the way, but I have a feeling you’ve already had a bonding moment.”

_Oh._

_Sister._

_Of course._

She giggled with amusement at Byungchan’s face of realization. 

The two left to return to their own apartment space soon after, he claimed that Yejoon had some online homework to work on and they needed the house laptop for it, but Hanse knew he was just making excuses to give him and his sister some time alone.

As soon as the door shut, Hanse immediately confronted her, “You flirted with him didn’t you?” eyebrows raised, arms crossed and all.

She let out a loud laugh, “I don’t know what you mean,” challenging him.

“I walked into the room to see him flushed red head to toe and I know that mouth of yours lets out a _lot_ of bullshit.”

She crossed her arm too, “And what if I did? I mean, he’s cute…”

This made Hanse pout unconsciously, genuinely moping, “Yeah, he’s cute. And he’s _mine_.”

She snuggled onto his side on the couch, “Kidding! I just quizzed him a little, that’s all I did, I swear.”

“Good. But why does that make me even more scared?”

“Sese, you literally have nothing to worry about. He is _all yours_.”

  
Hanse sat on his studio chair, trying to finish a song that has been stuck in his drafts for a couple of weeks. The label was already nagging him about it. They usually let him take his time, but once they caught onto the fact that he has been preoccupied recently with something- or rather, someone- they give him a deadline for the very first time in his career.

Contrary to what his label thought, he didn’t see Byungchan and Yejoon as a distraction at all. Their bright, loud laughs and copy-paste dimples even served as inspiration to him. Even he didn’t take note of the fact until his sister took a listen at a few of his beats, pointing out the fact that they sounded a lot happier and upbeat than his old ones. 

He smiled at the thought of inviting the two to his studio. He could already imagine how happy it would make Yejoon. Hanse wouldn’t even be mad if he meddled with all those buttons and completely messed his settings up. He would let him, only if it made the kid happy. 

Although, he didn’t know if he had enough confidence to let Byungchan hear him record yet. He would probably tumble over his words like he tended to do in front of the cute neighbour. He smiles even wider, thinking maybe he could convince the other to record a singing track too. Hanse has only ever heard him sing the chorus of _Into The New World by Girls’ Generation_ , but even that left him longing to hear his sweet voice again for days. 

Thinking deeper about the other, he couldn't help but frown, remembering how the two hadn't been over as of recently. Maybe his sister really did scare them off.   
He clicked his phone open and went over to his messages with Byungchan. A check mark indicated that the other has viewed his message but left him with no response. He glanced at the time. 

_6:14PM_

Usually around this time the two would be having their dinner. He scratched the side of his head, debating with himself if he should knock and check on the two of them. Hell, maybe he’d even use borrowing sugar as a lame excuse too.  
  
He tried not to overthink as he took his headphones off and stood up. He hoped that they were both past the point of finding it clingy to want to hang out or simply say hi.

As he stood by the doorway, fumbling to put a pair of slippers on, he heard a muffled sniffle. It sounded like it came from right outside his door. He looked through the peephole only to find nothing in front of him. Continuing his short trip to his neighbour’s apartment, he opened the door.

He heard the soft sniffle again, turning his head to find the source of the sound only for the sight in front of him to leave his heart absolutely wrecked.

There he was. Byungchan. All alone, sitting down with his back against the wall right beside Hanse’s door, hugging his knees to his chest and burying his face there. 

  
Hanse immediately sunk to the ground in front of the boy, “Hey, hey Byung. What’s wrong?”, he said in a hushed tone.

The boy lifted his face slightly at the sound of his voice. Hanse’s heart broke even more, seeing his eyes slightly red, tears pooling at the corners, “Hanse.” he whispered.

Byungchan went back to burying his face in his knees, he goes to rub at his back, “What’s wrong, Byungie?”, he hesitated in saying, not wanting to push him, but also wanting to immediately resolve things for him so he can no longer see the other in this state. He wasn’t sure if his heart could handle any more.

He lifted his face again, looked into the other’s gentle eyes, his lips wobbled as the tears burned his eyes once more. He pulled Hanse in, wrapped his arms around his waist, keeping him close, burying his face onto his neck as the force of the sobs shook his body. Hanse held him so gently, stroking his hair, rubbing at his back, whispering “It’s okay.”, again and again, assuring him. 

Byungchan whispers, finding his voice, “I’m sorry. You really weren’t supposed to see me l-like this but I… I really don’t know what t-to do anymore. I thought it would be okay. I thought after… I thought after a day it would pass like it’s nothing, but with all the n-news and him still being sick.”, he sobs even more, “It’s been four days, Sese. This is really not the time to be getting fevers. I don’t know w-what to do. I’m sorry.”

“Shhh… Breathe, Byung. Breathe.”, calming him down. After his breathing became more even, they both seemed to realize at the same time that they were sitting on the floor of the hallway, holding each other close, unmoving. They both pull away awkwardly, Hanse mentally thanks the fact that this side of the hallway did not have a CCTV Camera.

Even as they break away, Hanse grabs his hand, running his thumb onto his knuckles. “You look really tired, Angel.”

His eyebrows furrow slightly at the nickname, but Hanse decides to ignore it, gently pulling him to their apartment. Byungchan unlocks the door, his hand that the other wasn’t holding still slightly shaking. 

Once they get in, Hanse decides to ask him, “Why didn’t you call me? You didn’t have to be going through this alone.”

“I stood outside, ringing the doorbell for about 15 minutes, you know. I thought you weren’t home," he pouts and then says, barely there, “This might be much, but please never ignore me like that again, I didn’t know what to do.”

He blinks, “Oh.” he must have missed the doorbell ringing due to the loud music from his headphones, “Oh no.” Hanse pulls him close by his arm and wraps his arms around the taller man, “I’m so sorry. I’m the worst person ever. I’m so so sorry, Byung.”

“Shut up, you’re not," he mumbles back weakly.

With Byungchan crouching down resting his head on Hanse’s shoulder, he was at the perfect height to press a kiss to the side of his head, so he does just that, “Please get some rest.”

“Bu-”

“I know things are scary right now, but you have nothing to worry about, okay? You both haven’t been going outside, I’ve been with you this whole time. It’s just a fever and we’ll get him to feel better in no time, okay?”

Byungchan nods, “Okay.”

“I’ll go get him some of the medicine I have. I also make delicious soup. I’ll take care of him, I promise. Please rest.”

Byungchan is hesitant, but judging from the bags under his eyes, his body gives in, letting go of Hanse and padding to his bedroom. It made him warm inside to know that the man trusted him with his child, and he’d do anything to make Yejoon feel better.

A couple of hours and several youtube tutorials in, Byungchan wakes up to find him struggling in the kitchen. Hanse hears snickers behind him, “Having trouble?”

Although the mood was definitely brighter now that the other has had rest, he still looked as tired as ever, “I haven’t been sleeping for longer than 3 hours.” he explains.

Hanse looked sympathetic for a second before joking, “You want me to knock you out?”

Byungchan chuckles and playfully punches his shoulder, “How are you gonna do that when you can’t even make a simple chicken soup? And I’m much bigger than you.”

Hanse couldn’t think of a comeback, instead mocking Byungchan’s voice, “Hi uhm good afternoon, do you happen to have sugar?”, he acted out overdramatically, even batting his eyelashes.

Byungchan flushes in recognition, punching him on the shoulder again, harder this time, “Shut up," he mumbles.

“That was totally an excuse," Hanse snickers.

“It was not!” he argues.

“You didn’t even get the sugar.” he smirks, shooting back.

Byungchan stuttered, not finding anything to argue back. Hanse laughed at him, petting his cheek, “It’s okay. No need to be shy, Angel.”

His eyebrows furrow again at the nickname, lips falling into a pout, “Stop calling me that.”

“What? Angel?” he teases, before regretting it as he senses that the other was genuinely upset.

“Yeah! It just doesn’t make any sense. So you should stop calling me that.”

Hanse stood there, confused. He didn’t know what to say so he kept quiet, sensing the other had more to say. 

“You’re the angel here. You are, Hanse." he exclaims, sounding almost frustrated, “Y-You always do stupid things just to make Yejoon happy, you’ve even been spending extra money on that cereal even when I know you prefer pancakes for breakfast. You should stop doing that, by the way.”

Hanse chuckles despite how stunned he felt. Byungchan took a breath before continuing, “You always remember to talk to Yejoon on the elevator so he doesn’t get scared, you make him Spiderman legos even though I know- I _know_ you’re a DC person. This whole time you accepted us in your home, not judging me for being a single father, never even pushing me. And whenever you ask me things, you never forget about Yejoon and how he's a big part of my life. Most people just brush it off and pretend he doesn't exist and I have to explain to them that being a father isn't easy, but it's never like that with you. Everything has always been easy with you.”

He continued, “You always do these things, you’re so kind and understanding a-”, he falters as Hanse takes a step closer to him, hands reaching up to cup his cherry red ears, feeling the heat in his palms as he rubs them, calming him down. 

He pouts, “You see what I mean?”

Hanse retreats, pulling his hands away, “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

Byungchan caught his hands before they fell, bringing them to his cheeks instead, leaning into his touch, he says softly, “You should know by now that I don’t mind.”

Hanse stared at him, his face in his hands, so close. With the way he was holding him, it almost felt like Byungchan was his. An overwhelming feeling of warmth and adoration flooded him. He couldn’t help but lean in, closer and closer.

Just as Byungchan’s eyes flutter close, waiting for him, Hanse stops. He lands a kiss on the corner of his mouth instead. Pulling away, flustered. 

His eyes fluttered open, he looked frustrated at Hanse’s little stunt, suddenly pulling him close by the neck, landing his lips on his. Despite the desperate start, they both move slowly, hands and necks, chests bumping, warmth all over. Barely a kiss, more of a touch. A press.

Byungchan slips off to rest his face on his shoulder, sighing softly. They stand there, doing nothing but exist close to each other, feeling the rise and fall of Hanse’s chest.

“Byung.”

“Hm?”, voice muffled by the cloth his face was buried in.

“Before this becomes… a thing. I have to come clean.”

Byungchan hums again, telling him to go on. Hanse takes his time as if he was gathering courage, which scared him a little.

“...I was helping Yejoon with Maths once. It was addition and I asked him to hold up how many fingers he thought the answer was. The problem was 5 + 6.”

He lets out a loud laugh, pulling away from the other, landing a soft slap on his shoulder.

“Oh, and also I have feelings for you.”, Hanse adds as an afterthought.

Byungchan gaped. Despite the physical contact, his mind was yet to catch up. "You like me?"

The other man laughed at this, although there was nothing but fondness in the way he stared, "You had to know, right? By now... There's no way you didn't already know."

"But," he tried gathering his thoughts, "You never ask questions. About me."

Hanse shakes his head, "I never wanted to push you to talk about anything you didn't want to. You don't owe anyone any explanation."

Stunned at this, he replies dumbly, "I dunno. I just thought you weren't interested in me like that."

He looked almost offended by this, "Byung, I think about you a _lot_. Trust me."

After the soup was done, they headed to Yejoon’s room together. They were surprised to find the sick boy already awake, tugging at his blanket. He fed his son while Hanse took care of everything else, a new wet towel to put on his forehead, some medicine and some water, adjusting the AC. Byungchan smiled softly at the scene, realizing how much more calm he was with the presence of the other man. Hanse caught his eye and returned the smile. 

Yejoon interrupts, his voice still rough from sickness, “Is uncle Hanse gonna be my new Appa?”

Both of them let out a shocked laugh, Byungchan more embarrassed and Hanse more amused. Hanse sat beside the child, looking him in the eyes, “Would you like that, Yejoonie?”

The kid let out an enthusiastic nod. He shifted his eyes to Byungchan in silent question, _And you?_

He doesn’t have to think before he nods, cheeks still burning. Still looking at him, his smile grows huge, “Then, I don’t mind.”


End file.
